PSYCHOSIS

The word psychosis is used to describe symptoms that affect a person’s beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Psychosis can cause someone to misinterpret or confuse what is going on around them. For example, a person who is experiencing psychosis may hear voices when alone but the voice is heard internally and so is very real to him/her. When someone becomes unwell in this way it is called a psychotic episode. An episode is a period of time when someone is having symptoms of psychosis

that interferes with normal day to day life. Psychosis is most likely to occur in late adolescence or in the early adult years. Psychosis can be treated and most people make a full recovery from the experience

There is some indication that psychosis is caused by a combination of inherited biological factors that may make someone more vulnerable(more likely) to experience psychotic

symptoms. These symptoms can happen in response to stress, drug use or social changes in such vulnerable individuals but again, it is different for different people.Psychosis can have a sever impact on a persons's life, relationships, work, school, other usual activities and self care can be difficult to maintain.

When someone has psychosis, a diagnosis of a particular psychotic illness is usually given. Diagnosis means identification of an illness by a person’s symptoms, and the diagnosis will depend on what brought on the illness and how long the symptoms last. Psychosis can be present in many disorders such as PTSD, schiophrenia, psychotic depression, bipolar disorder, schioaffective disorder,and drug induced disorder.

WARNING SIGNS OF PSYCHOSIS

A dramatic deterioration in functioning at school or home

Social withdrawal

Dramatic changes in sleep pattern

Statements or behavior that are bizarre and inconsistent with what’s going on around them

Hallucinations (seeing, hearing feeling or tasting things that other people don’t)

Difficulty filtering stimulation from the environment

Delusions (false personal beliefs based on incorrect inferences about reality which are inconsistent with culture and previous beliefs, and which are firmly sustained in spite of evidence or proof to the contrary)